23 Mar Reader Poll: “Should a gestational mother (carries an unborn child to term, but not biologically related) have parental rights after the child’s birth?”

Should a gestational mother (carries an unborn child to term, but not biologically related) have parental rights after the child’s birth?

Here’s how readers responded:

10 Percent Yes

63 Percent No

27 Percent Don’t know

This is a tough question and it represents just some of the dilemmas associated with assisted reproductive technologies. Because so many of these technologies created artificial situations for which there are no natural precedents (nor legal or ethical guidelines), the human race finds itself fumbling around searching for the answers. Unfortunately, it is the children of these situations who are left ungrounded and without a clear path as to their identity and their parentage. It has consequences for them and for society.

Should a woman, although she might not be carrying a child with her biological material, still not be considered a mother? Did her body and her blood not nourish and carry the baby for some nine months? Did not part of her become part of the child during that time? This is something that is being tested in courts in various places around the world and it is going to take “the wisdom of Solomon” to sort it out.